Fluid-tight container



July 14, 1970 w. L. AHILEMEYER 3,520,463

FLUID-TIGHT CONTAINER Filed March 41:, 1968 I 1X. zxim x :3??? 9922171 122";

lNVENT OR WILLIAM L. AHLEMEYER BY W, "IOWC/Sy United States Patent 3,520,463 FLUID-TIGHT CONTAINER William L. Ahlemeyer, Louisville, Ky., assiguor to Anaconda Aluminum Company, a corporation of Montana Filed Mar. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 710,008 Int. Cl. B65d 3/00 US. Cl. 229-45 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container having a composite tubular body member and end closure members and method of making the c011- tainer wherein a body ply web is wound into tubular form with its adjacent marginal edges defining a continuous seam therebetween and a metallic foil liner ply web is secured to the body ply web prior to the winding of the body ply strip into tubular form; the liner ply web has a coated surface which defines the interior surface of the body member and a marginal edge portion which extends beyond the corresponding marginal edge of the body ply web, overlapping the adjacent body ply seam and being secured to the surface of the adjacent liner ply web in a fluid-tight manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to wound containers having a rigid non-metallic tubular body with a coated foil interior surface and closure members secured to either end of the tubular body. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel body construction and method of making wound containers.

Description of the prior art The use of non-metallic wound containers in lieu of high cost metallic cans in packaging operations is well known. Containers of this type generally comprise webs of metallic foil or foil-paper laminate and cardboard which are wound successively onto a mandrel and adhered to each other to form a tubular body member. End closure members are secured to the body member to complete the container. A metallic foil-paper laminate is most often used as the liner material because it is more economical than a heavy gauge unsupported foil web which would otherwise be required. However, ordinary containers of this type will not withstand attack from corrosive contents in the absence of a protective coating which is applied to the interior foil surfacerFoil-paper laminates are not completely suited for coatings because many desirable coating compounds require drying and curing at elevated temperatures which paper is unable to withstand. Heretofore this problem has been sidestepped either by avoiding coatings which require high temperature treatment or by using unsupported foil webs of sufficient gauge to withstand the rigors of subsequent fabrication. Neither practice is completely satisfactory from the standpoint of combining quality and economy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The container of the present invention comprises a substantially rigid tubular body member and closure members secured to each end of the tubular body member. The body member includes a body ply web wound into tubular form with its adjacent marginal edges defining a continuous seam therebetween. A metallic foil liner ply web is adhesively secured to the body ply web prior to the winding of the body ply web into tubular form. The liner ply web has a coated surface which defines the inte- "ice rior surface of the body member and a marginal edge portion which extends beyond the corresponding marginal edge of the body ply web to overlap the adjacent body ply seam. The overlapping marginal edge portion of the liner ply web is secured to the surface of the adjacent liner ply strip to provide a fluid-tight seal for the adjacent body ply seam.

The present invention provides a fluid-tight container which combines the economy of a light gauge unsupported foil liner and the effectiveness of protective coatings which may require high temperature drying and curing. In addition, the container of the present invention may be fabricated from webs of narrow width which are the most economical.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the fabrication of the container body of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the formation of a helically wound container body of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a helically wound container of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing a first embodiment of scam construction of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of seam construction of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A description of the construction of the present container 10 is best achieved by setting forth the steps in its manufacture as shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A body ply web or strip 11 of paper or cardboard stock is fed from a roll 12 and directed successively over suitable support rollers 13 and 14 and applicator 15 which applies a coating of adhesive such as animal glue, caseinlatex emulsion, vinyl-copolymer emulsion, sodium silicate, or any other desired adhesive to that surface of the body web 11 which will be secured to a surface of a liner ply web 17.

The liner ply web 17 is of aluminum foil ranging in thickness from 0.00025 to 0.001". A surface of the liner ply web 17 which upon fabrication will define the interior surface of the container body is coated to inhibit chemical attack. The protective coating may be a nitrocellulose lacquer, an epoxy, or any other suitable coating including those which require curing and drying at elevated temperatures. The liner ply web 17 is fed from a roll 18 and directed successively over suitable support rollers 19, 20, 21 and 22 to combining rolls 24 where its uncoated surface is forced into contact with the adhesively coated surface of the body ply web 11. The webs 11, 17 are secured to each other in such manner that a marginal edge portion 26 of the liner web 17 extends beyond the corresponding marginal edge 27 of the body ply web 11. This may be achieved either by employing a liner ply web which is greater in width than the body ply web or by employing a liner ply web which is substantially the same width as the body ply web but which is offset transversely with respect to opposite marginal edge 28 of the body ply web 11 when it is secured thereto. As shown best in FIG. 2, the composite web 11, 17 is then wound into tubular form about a mandrel 30 in the conventional manner so that edge 27 is the leading edge of one convolution and edge 28 is the trailing edge of an adjacent subse quently wound convolution.

FIGS. 4 and 5 best illustrate the preferred constructions of a continuous seam 31 between adjacent marginal edges of successive convolutions of the body ply web 11. The

particular seam construction is dictated in each instance by the thickness of the body ply web 11. In the FIG. 4 embodiment, the body web 11 is relatively thick, as for example a 5-7 pt. caliper board stock. To provide a seam 31 of substantially the same thickness as that of the body ply web 11, the marginal edges 27, 28 are skived so that they overlap as shown when the composite web 11, 17 is wrapped about the mandrel 30. The liner ply web 17 of the FIG. 4 embodiment is substantially equal in width to the body web 11 but is offset transversely from the marginal edge 28 to provide the overlapping portion 26. That a portion of the body ply web 11 remains uncovered by the liner ply web 17 does not affect adversely the integrity of the liner seam and results in a saving of material. As wound upon the mandrel 30, the coated surface of the liner ply web 17 defines the interior surface of the composite web 11, 17 which now comprises a tubular container body 32. The edge portion 26 of the liner ply web 17 which extends beyond marginal edge 27 of the body ply web 11 overlaps the body web seam 31 and is secured to the surface of the adjacent liner web convolution to provide a foil-to-foil, fluid-tight seal for the body web seam 31. A suitable adhesive similar to that used to secure the liner ply web 17 to the body ply web 11 may be introduced at the body ply web seam 31 to provide structural stability. The edge portion 26 of the liner ply web 17 is secured to the adjacent portion of the liner ply web with a heat scalable coating, a heat sensitive adhesive, or a hot melt which is a resin and wax blend.

Referring to FIG. 5, the body ply web 11 is relatively thin, as for example a suitable kraft paper which may be overlapped at adjacent marginal edges 27a, 28a to define a continuous seam 31a between the adjacent successive convolutions of the body ply web 11 without causing a substantial discontinuity in the thickness of the finished tubular body 32. As in the FIG. 4 embodiment, the liner ply web 17 is substantially equal in width to the body' web 11 but is offset transversely from the marginal edge 28a to provide the overlapping portion 26 which extends beyond the marginal edge 27a of the body web 11 and is secured to the adjacent portion of liner web to provide a foil-to-foil, fluid-tight seal for the body web seam 31a. The adjacent convolutions of the body ply web 11 are secured to each other with a suitable adhesive as described above and the overlapping edge portion 26 of the liner ply web 11 is sealed to the adjacent portion of the liner ply web in a manner similar to that described above.

As the composite web 11, 17 is wrapped about the mandrel 30 it is also advanced axially with respect to the mandrel by conventional means, not shown, and ultimately severed at appropriate intervals. The protective coating which has been applied to the interior surface of the liner ply web 17 preferably has a low coefficient of friction to facilitate the axial movement of the composite web 11, 17 with respect to the mandrel 30. The fabrication of the present container 10 is completed by adding end closure members 35, 36 at the appropriate time.

It is contemplated by the present invention that the thickness of the body ply web may be varied and that a conventional label ply and/or additional plies of body stock may be incorporated to meet specific requirements.

I claim:

1. In a container of the type having a substantially rigid tubular body member and closure members secured to each end of the tubular body member, the improvement in combination therewith comprising:

(a) a body ply web wound into tubular form with its adjacent marginal edges defining a continuous seam therebetween;

(b) an unsupported metallic foil liner ply web adhesively secured to the body ply web prior to the winding of the body ply web into tubular form, the liner ply web ranging in thickness between 0.00025" and 0.001" and having a heat-cured coated surface defining the interior surface of the body member, the coated surface having been cured at an elevated temperature above that which would damage paper; and

(c) a marginal edge portion of the liner ply web extending beyond the corresponding marginal edge of the body ply web, the overlapping marginal edge portion being equal in thickness to the remainder of the liner ply web and being secured to the surface of an adjacent portion of the liner ply web to provide a fluid-tight seal for the body ply seam.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the liner ply web is equal in width to the body ply web but is offset transversely with respect to the marginal edges of the body ply web to provide the overlapping marginal edge portion.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein the marginal edges of the bod ply web are skived to provide a container body of substantially uniform wall thickness when the body ply web is wound into tubular form.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 993,170 5/1911 Jenkins 9380 XR 1,031,965 7/1912 Schoettle 9380 2,540,565 2/1951 Barbieri. 3,207,651 9/1965 Hood et al. 2294.5 XR 3,279,675 10/1966 Elam et al 2294.5 3,322,156 5/1967 Stuart 2294.5 XR 3,406,614 10/1968 Martin et a1. 2294.5 XR 1,944,970 1/ 1934 Dieffenbach.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

